![]() ![]() ![]() and NBC’s The Bold Ones: The New Doctors/NBC Reports. Originally broadcast as part of The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies, Gargoyles had to contend with the ABC Movie of the Week/Marcus Welby M.D. This brings us to CBS’ Gargoyles (1972), a TV movie that aimed to rectify that situation and give these mostly forgotten creatures a chance to shine through the filter of a demented Saturday morning vibe. GARGOYLES certainly deserves to be a classic of this era's made-for-TV movies and it's clearly one of the best of its kind.Pity the poor gargoyle, second tier (at the very least) in horror iconography, resigned to being stone portents in many a film, but never getting their creepy due. The film offers up some performances from Wilde and Salt as well as supporting players Grayson Hall, William Stevens and a young Scott Glenn. The voice alterations for the monsters were also a bit silly and brought on some unintended camp value. I think there are a few too many silly moments during the final act and I must say that all the scenes with the head gargoyle and the daughter talking are somewhat embarrassing. I thought the monsters were a lot of fun and their outfits and looks were certainly a major plus. Once we do get to see the creatures the suspense dies out but I think the effects are still so good that you can't help but have fun with them. There are a couple examples early on where we just hear the monsters or see their shadows as they fly across something and these moments are very effective. I thought director Bill Norton actually did a very good job at building up the anticipation of the monsters early on and I thought some of the best moments happened before we ever actually got to see the creatures. At just 74-minutes GARGOYLES packs enough fun to make it worth viewing even though some rather silly moments and flaws. He's pretty much a non-believer that something could be out there today but that all changes when he runs into a pack of gargoyles who are just waiting to take the world over. Gargoyles (1972) *** (out of 4) Fun made-for-TV horror film has an anthropologist (Cornel Wilde) and his daughter (Jennifer Salt) traveling out West so that he can do research on his book about demons. ![]()
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